Brittany Noschese, 29, from Maryland, intended to give birth to her son, Nash, in a birthing tub she had set up in her bedroom because she wanted to give birth in the privacy of her own home.
But her son, Nash, couldn’t wait any longer and came when Brittany least expected it. Noschese says she feels ’empowered’ by the images as they are a reminder that her ʙᴏᴅʏwas her children’s ‘first home’. The mother of four hopes that sharing her experience would show others that they already possess the potential to give birth.
Noschese said:” With my third child, I decided I wanted to do a home birth so my eldest children Jett, then six and Ella, then five, could be there too. It was also supposed to by my first water birth, but in my own home environment. We had everything set up in our bedroom, the tarp on the floor, a birthing tub was set up in the middle of our bedroom. But I never actually sat in it as Nash arrived whilst the water was filling up and I was still on the toilet! I get ɢᴏᴏsᴇʙᴜᴍᴘs by just looking at the pictures – each photo tells a story, and you can feel the emotion. I would love for people to realize that they already have the power within themselves. Births do not always go as planned, however each one of them can be a positive and an empowered one. Each birth story is unique and sacred.” Brittany woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a need to urinate, which was followed by another need less than twenty minutes later.
The third time, though, there was ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ, and she realized she was about to give birth right away. She woke up her 31-year-old husband Zane, who dialed their ᴅᴏᴜʟᴀ, ᴍɪᴅᴡɪꜰᴇ, and birth photographer, but none of them picked up. She said:” I knew it was going to happen and that I was going to meet my little one very soon. I was having a hard time finding a comfortable position on the birthing ball because my ʙᴏᴅʏwas moving forward so quickly. My ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs had begun, but the tub wasn’t quite full enough for me to enter. For the remaining time, I knelt down, but when I attempted to sit down on the toilet, I suddenly felt a ᴛʀᴇᴍᴇɴᴅᴏᴜs ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ on the bottom of my ʙᴇʟʟʏ.” Noschese recalled experiencing a ‘ʙɪɢ ᴘᴏᴘ’ as her ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇ, ꜰᴏʀᴄɪɴɢ her to give delivery on the toilet as the baby was on the way.
She said:” The baby was ‘slowly making his way down in my ʙᴏᴅʏas I sat back down on the toilet. My ʙᴏᴅʏpushed. I didn’t. The head is coming, I informed Zane. I chose to remain on the toilet since I felt at ease there. The midwife arrived 18 minutes after I gave birth and immediately checked Nash’s ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛ and made sure I was OK. We were both healthy and doing just great then I explained what happened and she was very calm and happy for me. The ᴜɴᴄᴏɴᴠᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ birth of Nash, now three, led to my decision of having an unassisted home birth with my fourth child Crew, seven months. I feel inspired and empowered when I look at the photos as they remind me that I grew and carried my children in my body, and that my ʙᴏᴅʏis their first home.’
